The present invention relates to the field of containers for administering medical fluids to patients. More particularly, the present invention relates to a snap-over clamshell protective port cap for intravenous (IV) fluid containers.
Access ports are commonly used in infusion solution containers to administer solutions to a patient, or to add medicaments or other solutions to the container prior to administration. Current solution containers typically may include a dedicated outlet port for solution administration to a patient and a dedicated inlet port for the addition of diluent or other ingredients to the container. These ports are conventional in the art and may be of different types of construction but typically have an annular flange. The ports are in fluid communication with the container, usually via an attached tube having a diameter smaller than the port flange.
The outlet port is intended to be coupled to an administrative set and is therefore commonly referred to as the administrative port, whereas the inlet port is designed to permit the injection of therapeutic agents and nutrients into the partially filled container and is sometimes identified as the additive or injection port. Such a container may contain a partial filling of a sterile solution such as water, saline, dextrose or a combination thereof to function as a diluent for the injected additive. The diluted drug or nutrient is then administered to a patient by means of the administrative set that may be either directly or indirectly (i.e., through another solution set) coupled to the patient.
Maintaining the integrity of medication solutions to be administered to a patient is of major importance. It has been found, however, that careless or inattentive handling of a solution container may create significant risks of drug administration errors. Such errors include duplicate administrations of the same substance (overdosing) as well as mis-administration of the wrong substance. These risks may be increased where emergency situations are presented that require quick manipulation of the various components and quick addition of one or more substances to a container via the additive port. In extreme circumstances, a person may intentionally seek to harm a patient by adding one or more agents. Likewise, one could deliberately remove properly mixed solutions via the additive port for illicit purposes. It is imperative that evidence of such tampering be readily apparent to caregivers or their supervisors.
Current methods of making notification of a previous drug administration include placing an adhesive label over the face of the port or onto the container itself. Adhesive labels are not mechanically attached to the port or the container, may be removed, and do not offer any resistance to subsequent needle penetration.
Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that is readily available and easy to place on a port, fully covering the same, upon the completion of prescribed drug admixtures.
A further object of the invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that cannot be removed without damaging the cap and/or the underlying port, and/or leaving visible evidence of tampering.
Another object of the invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that is puncture resistant so as to deter the administration or removal of one or more substances via syringe after the cap is in place.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.